When operating a firearm, it is common for the operator to mount a firearm stand such as a bipod, monopod, or tripod to the firearm. A firearm stand offers several advantages to the operator, most importantly a greatly increased level of stability during shooting. Monopods feature a single leg and are often used with smaller firearms and offer the advantage of being lightweight and compact, although monopods often do not provide adequate stability for use with large firearms. Bipods feature two legs and allow an operator to rest the firearm on the ground, the top of a low wall, or similar surface during shooting. Bipods are often used with larger firearms such as rifles and machine guns in order to increase accuracy as well as reduce operator fatigue as bipods eliminate the need for the operator to physically hold and steady the firearm. Tripods feature three legs and similar to bipods, allow the operator to rest the firearm on a surface during shooting. Tripods are often heavy and bulky although tripods offer an additional level of stability when compared to bipods. As such, tripods are commonly used on large firearms such as rifles and machine guns. Firearm stands are often mounted to firearms via a mechanism that allows convenient attachment and detachment as well as convenient deployment as needed. Common attachment mechanisms include the Picatinny rail and claw systems that are designed to clamp to a firearm sling stud. While Picatinny rails are modular and relatively straightforward to use, the rails are often not present or are unsuitable for use with firearm stands and various firearms such as hunting rifles. Claw systems are designed for use with such firearms that require the operator to insert the claw system through a hole present in the forend pad of the firearm stand in order to access the sling stud to which the claw system may be clamped. The claw system is generally attached in order to complete the mounting of the firearm stand. The operator is required to adjust and orient the claw system beneath the forend pad to a proper angle in order to bypass the hole. This process is cumbersome and time-consuming as it is common for the claw system to fall through the hole in the forend pad after the claw system has been removed. The present invention seeks to address the aforementioned issues relating to firearm stand mounting mechanisms as well as provide a straightforward and convenient solution.
The present invention is a claw mounting system for facilitating the process of attaching and detaching a firearm stand such as a monopod, bipod, or tripod to a firearm. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the claw mounting system comprises a claw assembly that is designed to be inserted and secured against the wall of the hole of a firearm stand. The claw mounting system may be secured to a sling attachment point as well. The claw assembly comprises an elastic element and pin that assists in retaining the claw mounting system in the proper vertical position by allowing the operator to adjust the tension of the claw assembly. The object of the present invention is to maintain the claw mounting system for a firearm stand in the vertical position once inserted into the forend pad of the firearm stand. This prevents the claw mounting system from falling through the hole of the forend pad as the tension of the claw mounting system may be increased to hold the claw mounting system in place when the firearm stand is detached from the firearm.